beyonce1:

did i do something to u ? cuz everytime i say something u look confused

sorry if i did

omogenaija:

did i do something to u ? because everytime i say something u look confused

sorry if i did

I do not remember 'this' reply of my repeated elsewhere 'my dear'---- no harm

---- to put a smile on your face, 1.) I honestly do not understand what HSMP visa is but then whatever it means , if it is so difficult for you to secure a Good job in Nigeria, I 'd say it might be advisable for you to choose U.K at this stage 'IF' u have a welcoming place to stay where u woundn't need to start paying bills immediately u get a job, 'cos u might not be able to save well enough, but if the visa is still valid it's worth a try

@babe

Pls,biko.abeg, Try ur possible best to get urself back to UK ASAP, What could you still be possibly waiting for here in thi country??

See with ur VISA, u are a step ahead, so do make best use of the situation right now b4 things change/ Remember the sayin, "you dont know what you have till you loose it"


, Wishing you best of luck sha.

@ Bibibabe,
MY ADVICE: Get the next available flight back to the UK.
UK is a land of opportunity as long as u can swim with the sharks and wrestle with 'em alligators.
I stay in the UK but currently schooling in the US so i know how the system works in the UK.
Making money in the UK is very easy if u work very hard and go for broke.
Loadz of Nigerians here in UK kind of under-estimate their worth/values and they lack confidence when it comes to job hunting and thatz why most of 'em remain stagnant and do odd jobs like cleaning or security jobs.
Its a big fat cake out there in the UK and a lot of smart Nigerian dudes are fast taking their chances.
For instance, i know some IT jobs that pay a staggering £350-£600 a day on CONTRACT.
Take IT courses like Bid Support Modelling ,PDM(Physical Database Management), Software Testing, CCNP or even management courses(PRINCE 2 or Project management) and u cannot be far from at least £300-400 a day.
These are jobs that don't even require u to have any degree.
All u need is just pass the certification exams and get on board with smart jobs in areas like Canary Wharf or Canada Water where things r happening.
I don't think there is any job in Nigeria that will pay 100,000 Naira a day.
Even 419s/Drug Pushers+ armed robbers don't make as much as that.
Do the math and think of how much u will make in 6 months at this rate.
I wish ya Goodluck.

l beg!! my sister niaja is rough and hard,Graduates down here with good grades are finding it difficult to find a job.
My sister l will advice u to find the next avaliable flight back to u.k !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since u already have the HSMP visa there, u already have something at hand.
Plz!!!!! Plz!!!!!!!!!!! go back to U.k fast!!!! Fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bibibabe,

I think you should go back to the UK since you don't have a specific job here. However, do not expect anything on a platter of gold in the UK. Getting a HSMP doesn't imply automatic job as you will discover. But it increases greatly your chances of getting one. Also, your discipline will determine what kind of offer you will get.

Conclusively, try your luck in the UK, but be ready to work extra hard.

Best of luck.

Jackal:

@ Bibibabe,
MY ADVICE: Get the next available flight back to the UK.
UK is a land of opportunity as long as u can swim with the sharks and wrestle with 'em alligators.
I stay in the UK but currently schooling in the US so i know how the system works in the UK.
Making money in the UK is very easy if u work very hard and go for broke.
Loadz of Nigerians here in UK kind of under-estimate their worth/values and they lack confidence when it comes to job hunting and thatz why most of 'em remain stagnant and do odd jobs like cleaning or security jobs.
Its a big fat cake out there in the UK and a lot of smart Nigerian dudes are fast taking their chances.
For instance, i know some IT jobs that pay a staggering [b]£350-£600 a day on CONTRACT.[/b]
Take IT courses like Bid Support Modelling ,PDM(Physical Database Management), Software Testing, CCNP or even management courses(PRINCE 2 or Project management) and u cannot be far from at least £300-400 a day.
These are jobs that don't even require u to have any degree.
All u need is just pass the certification exams and get on board with smart jobs in areas like Canary Wharf or Canada Water where things r happening.
I don't think there is any job in Nigeria that will pay 100,000 Naira a day.
Even 419s/Drug Pushers+ armed robbers don't make as much as that.
Do the math and think of how much u will make in 6 months at this rate.
I wish ya Goodluck.

Please don't make me angry about this your JUICY talk, please go back to Sports

Dont forget She's not a JJC in UK.

In Uk, How many people get such contract Job?

Dont you know there are plenty of Master's degree holder in UK that are also filling the shelves in Tesco,Sainsburys and Asda ?

Similarly Hundreds of HSMP holders are doing full-time Cleaning in Uk as well?

Thank you very much Akolawole. People seems to think all is well in the UK. To my knowledge because I've been in the system over 9 years now and I'll tell you everything is wrong with the UK. Except their education and transportation. I know one Indian guy (very intelligent) with a masters degree in IT or so, and he works in Tesco's. Common in the UK, unless you have the English papers.

1)How are you going to obtain your national insurance number (NI) or have you got one already? Hope you are not planning on getting a fake one.
2)Hope you are ready for a rough ride if you decide to come back to the UK. Accommodation.
3)If you are planning to stay in London, think twice because their are more no jobs, people are now migrating to other cities like Manchester, Birmigham and Leeds.
4)It depends on what degree you have? I know they are in need of nurses and Doctors.
5) The British are now complaining about their graduates moving abroad especially to USA and Asia because of better oppoutunities, so they are finding ways to keep them here.

Its better for you to come to the UK to try your luck before your visa runs out, if unsuccessful, my guy return to Nigeria or better still most companies here in UK will tell you to apply on-line. So why don't you apply on-line in Nigeria for UK companies while waiting for the Nigeria companies you've applied for.

somebody asked what HSMP was ?
HSMP = Highly Skilled Migrant Program.
It is a visa given to professionals from other countries to work in the UK. Sort of Work and Residency permit for a fixed period of time after which it has to be renewed for you to continue to live and work in the UK. Strictly for professional people

To the original poster of this thread,
my piece of advice is for you to come back to the UK and get a job here, even if it is working in Tesco. That is better than being jobless in Nigeria. You can continue to seek for the professional job you desire.
Thank God for information technology, you can keep in touch with prospective employers in Nigeria and the UK while holding down what ever legitimate job you are able to secure here.

Nice one. You can always keep in touch via internet.

@ Akolawole,

I am kind of surprised u think my comments are juicy.
The problem with Nigerians in the UK is they tend to believe nothing good is achievable.
For your information, i know at least 20 people in my neighbourhood working with Banks and Telecoms company as IT experts and earning more than £1000 a week easily.
Most of 'em are on contracts and to get these jobs are very easy as long as one is certified.
Getting a NI(National Insurance) is easy as long as your visa allows u to work. All she needs to do is to go to a job centre and arrange for an interview and she will get her NI number in about 2 weeks.
Nigerians limit 'emselves to petty jobs because most Nigerians are lazy and they want the easiest way to make Benjy'z.

Master Degree holders filling the shelves in Tesco, Asda and Morrisons are the pessimistic group of Nigerians in the UK. The ones that have been mis-led and mis-guided that a Black Man will never make it to the top of the echelon. I cannot understand why u think getting jobs is very difficult in UK.
There are billions of jobs out there and as long as u are qualified u will get these jobs.

Accomodation is a bit on the high side for everyone living in London but hey, this is Europe just like it is in Nigeria.
People staying in Lagos pay more on rents and earn more compared to their counterparts staying in Kogi State or Zamfara State.
So be prepared to earn less dough if u want to stay outside London.

UK is a land flowing with milk and honey as long as u can work hard to get these certifications.
There are plenty of jobs at the London Underground.
Protection Masters at the London Underground still get paid as much as £120 a day but the lazy Nigerians will rather work at ASDA and Sainsbury because he/she does not want to read and take exams for high paying jobs.

My Advice: Run back to UK before your visa runs out.

Pack your load and return ASAP b4 i come down to 9jia and smack ur butt  

Whether you accept it or not, there are fewer opportunities in the UK and far more in the US. (See my earlier post as to why)

To the person that said that Nigerians are lazy and would prefer to stack shelves at Tesco, they obviously don't know what they are talking about. Nigerians are very hard working. They make up most of the NHS, social workers and still have a semblance of success despite the system.

I worked in the City and I was typically the only black person on the trading floor (let alone the only nigerian-briton) and that wasn't because I was the only black person in London. Don't forget that you are competing with highly motivated, very intelligent young graduates from the Eastern Bloc countries (new entrants into the EU) so it is very competitive.

I listen to a lot of British radio and a lot of the finance phone-ins are British people emigrating to the States. I'm not saying there are absolutley no opportunities in the UK, you really have to work very very hard.

Try and secure a job, doesn't matter if it means stacking shelves for now. That will give you time to check out the market and see what you want to do.

Good Luck!

@ Praetor,
Did u just say Nigerians are hard-working?
Can u tell me the ratio of the Nigerians that are working to the non-working Nigerians in the UK?
The ratio is almost 1 to 10.

Only 1 out of 10 Nigerians that walk the streets of UK are working.
Others are just looking for one job or the other to pull to make money.
U cannot really blame 'em because most of 'em don't even have the required papers to stay/work and they resort to odd jobs that don't really check background documents.
Go to Belmarsh Prisons and see the number of Nigerian youths langishing in the jail cells for one vice or the other.
Dont let us deceive ourselves here.
An average Nigerian is lazy compared to 'em Eastern Europeans or the Asians in the UK.
A normal Nigerian dude wants to drive a Mercedes Maybach(£450,000) months after arriving in UK without breaking a sweat and u feel Nigerians are hard-working?

I am having a laugh.

And to the person that keeps making up stories that the UK is the land of milk and honey, please tell the truth.

We should try and give objective opinions on this board and not dwell on fantasy.

I was born there and lived there for a significant amount of time. I also worked in very good jobs before I left so I know how difficult it is. Most of the black people I saw cleaned the toilets or served the food.

Most of the good jobs are in London and concentrated in the financial sector. Citizens from the new EU countries have also heard about London and into it on a daily basis so competition is extremely fierce and it's an employers market.

Just be aware that you have to be very confident and not take no for an answer. Please stop saying it's a stroll in the park because it is not.

What i said was UK is a land flowing with milk and honey for the hard-working types.

Can u tell me the reason why a Nigerian will not get a high paying job if he takes certification exams and pass very well?
I knw a dude that arrived in UK in January and took some Software Testing courses which he passed although he paid about £1000 for training/exams but he now works as a financial analyst for BT ( British Telecoms)and he pockets £1250 every week.
He carries a green passport just like other Nigerians in the UK and he doesn't know anyone here so rule out connections.
If every Nigerian in UK work as hard as this dude then no one will complain of any hardship or racism.

Jackal,

Maybe you have been looking at a different set of Nigerians.

The ones I met were very hard working, educated professionals. A lot of nigerians have 3 jobs and work constantly, they don't rest. I don't know about the ones in Belmarsh seeing as I have never been inside a prison before

And what is wrong with Nigerians wanting luxury and being ambitious? As long as they go about it the right way and not do anything illegal. It's important to have goals and know what you want in life and act accordingly.

Well Jackal,

Good for him (the guy that works with BT). I hope I hear many more stories like that.

The UK is a smaller place so competition is fierce. In my opinion, the US is far more meritocratic and is a much larger market therefore you have many more options. The Asians that are the new ruling UK business class realised that if they were going to progrss then they would have to open their open businesses. They have done that with huge success.

I'd like to see more of our people doing that, we have the brains and abilities.

Since she hasn't got a job in Nigeria, i'll advise her to leave for the uk and hopefully, get a good job. Although, UK isn't the best of places.

I like that.

Doing 3 odd jobs doesn't make one hard-working especially when u are educated enough to break the barriers of a high paying job.
Why should i under-estimate myself to 3 menial jobs when i can just take professional exams and do one job(normal 9am-5pm)?

For instance, why should someone that has a degree from a Nigerian University stock shelves in Tesco or Asda when he/she can just take certification courses and break into the job market with the prospects of getting a good paying job?
Nigerians have the abiltity and the talent but they prefer to work at odd places. Maybe its a complex when they see their white counteparts.

The problem with Nigerians is they don't want to pay + read for courses/exams and they will rather work at Tesco which does not require 'em to read and pay for exams before getting good jobs.

Tesco/Asda/Cleaning Jobs are not professional jobs. They are unskilled labour so they don't get up-graded but stagnant at one point for several years.
It is people like this that complain that UK is very difficult to survive in but they are not doing enough to upgrade 'emselves.
I will rather pay the price of doing a good paying job(£1200 per week) than working in 10 odd places that pay £250 a week.

I know the US is a much larger market but don't u think the immigration rules in the US is more strict than the rules in the UK.
Do u know the number of years it takes a student to get a social security number in the US?
Students get their NI numbers after about 3-4 weeks in the UK so Nigerians avoid the US like a plague.

Jackal,

What do you do in England? It would be interesting to know

Not all Nigerians are able to get well paid jobs. And the ones that can't do the 3 jobs. IT ISN"T EASY, STOP SAYING iT IS And anyway it depends on what you're going to spend all that money on!

I like your positive attitude, good for you. You go guy/girl?

God, you're tough! Don't be so hard on Nigerians in Britain! I used to be a bit of a hardliner myself but then I mellowed. They are doing their best. We need to encorage each other because it's a dog eat dog world out there.

Very Funny.

I work as a Systems Engineer for one of 'em telecoms company in London.
Though, i have been studying in the US for the last 9 -11 months in Cali fornia but i am fully back in the UK now.

P.S. I am a guy.

@Jackal,
come you this Jackal what is your problem
You have been slamming Nigerians all over the place like we are a bunch of lazy morons.
Are you really a Nigerian ?
The fact that you have a Systems Engineer job in the UK does not give you the authority to sit on your high horse and talk down on others.

Some of us here are also professionals and we know what obtains in the job market as well. I have a pretty good idea what the multinationals pay fresh graduate in various disciplines.Apart from the banks most grads earn between £17 and £25k per annum,before tax. It goes to £30 for some of the bigger oil firms and banks, rising to £35 for the top class investment bank and financial institutions.
Very few graduates without experience earn above £40K before tax.
When you take off an average of 22-30% tax the initial net earning of most grads is in the region of £20-£25K per annum.

I am not discouraging anyone from coming to the UK but it is not a bed of roses, let the truth be told. You have to work so hard here and it is not a very entrepreneurial community.Too much dependence on Government and salaries.

You have been singing concerning IT. I happen to have an IT background as well and I know that some of the major IT firms like Cable and Wireless are either laying off staff or planning to lay off staff. If it is so juicy why the lay off ?

I agree that a number of people earn the salaries you have been touting but stop lambasting those who are not earning such money as lazy. Moreover you called them contract jobs. What happens when the contract ends and you don't get another ?

Just before you think I am a loser who is trying to defend his penury,no. I am a well paid professional who does not do menial jobs in Tesco.

Jackal,

He told you!

funloving

tell Jackal o jare!

@praetor
please if you have msn or yahoo messenger can we get to talk online. I am trying to make a move to the US and want to hear from somebody who has been in the UK and now works in the US.
The email on my profile will link you to my IM
Thanks

funloving

couldn't find your email address.

Mine is inkandscroll@gmail.com, if you send me your email address I will send you a gmail invite and we can Gchat.

most nigerians do not know what its like leaving in UK until they have come here. am presently in the uk doing my masters, i should b thru by sept and by december am back home to naija. Its really difficult getting a decent and befitting job here, even with a masters degree. I have 2friend who did that masters here, a male and female. the girl has hspm and she works in a hospital as an account clerk, but she isnt getting satisfied. Right now she is planning her return as her boy friend has proposed to her. Now my male friend who did his masters here, worked in royal mail and he too was not getting satisfaction. i spoke with him on monday, and u know what he has booked his ticket back to naija to resume his new job with oceanic bank. The way i see life is that where ever you will reach you will reach whether in naija or abroad, but one thing my good people must know is that over here once u dont have their skin colour just forget it. there is no hope.

@Praetor

What kind of Visa or work permit did u use to relocate to the US and work.

Akolawole

Please come and help us with your fellow Londoner (Jackal). This is a new dimension, even i would have to say i am a bit dismayed.

honeycomb

don't be so negative or let the environment discourage you. It's tough but it can be done

Don't forget that the people that are doing very well in business in the UK are Asians and they are non-white. When you are an employee you will always be competing with lots of other people and employers use many different criteria to judge candidates. You shouldn't be discouraged. There are successful black people in the UK, it is just that there are not a large number of them like in the US.

Don't just keep within the nigerian community in the UK either, first what sort of career do you want? There are lots of online forums, e.g. nairaland and others, that you can join and post questions about how to get into your dream career. People are far more willing to help on anonymous forums than they are in person so ask ask ask.

If you don't ask you don't get. That's my motto in life

When I first moved from Nigeria back to England, I happened to stay with one of my parents friends and I told them
that I wanted to work with computers, they said "oh it's difficult blah blah blah" but I refused to listen to them and used each job that I got as a stepping stone to eventually get to my destination (I even got my employers to pay for my training, I didn't pay anything) Eventually landed a job with Morgan Stanley, the only person selected out of 300 people and with a nigerian degree so anything is possible. Have faith in yourself and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Cheer up!

I won the green card lottery through my parents ( they are nigerian and so I could apply that way)

Post your resume to american job boards monster.com and get a job with an american firm etc or if you have tons of money, apply for a permit as an investor. You'll get a permit very quickly!

Or apply to a school for a course and get a job here when you are about to graduate.

Unemployment here is quite low and it's relatively straightforward to get work. I don't know what your profession is but use craigslist.org, ajc.com(Atlanta jobs) and just do your research and post your resumes to as many job boards as possible. You could also get a transfer over here if your company is a multinational.